. >> that left bill clinton flying solo in florida. >> i was supposed to be the warmup man for president obama today. but that storm on the east coast had other ideas. >> governor romney canceled his schedule tonight but today he was still campaigning out of the storm's path in ohio. >> on the eastern coast of our nation, a lot of people are enduring some very difficult times. and our hearts and our prayers go to them. >> good day. i'm andrea mitchell live in washington. and we are in a special edition today, hurricane sandy growing stronger, reaching what could be historic strength as it heads directly for the northeast. we've got all of our reporters standing by throughout the danger zones with full reports but first, our meteorologist bill karins, live in lower manhattan, bracing for the storm surge tonight. bill, you're down there near battery city and obviously you're looking at tide coming in i guess around 8:30 tonight, is the really first test of just how bad this is going to be? >> yeah. this is slightly scary since this is what it looks like at the low tide, you know. we hit th